Palestinian pressure for amendments on the eve of Israel's acceptance of the US visa waiver program

Palestinian Americans raise concerns about Israel's application to join the US Visa Waiver Program, causing delays in granting US approval to the Israeli application. If approved, the Visa Waiver Program would allow Israeli passport holders to visit the United States without first obtaining a visa from the US Embassy—a laborious and often unpredictable process that allows US consular officials to grant or deny visa applications at their discretion.

A recent letter from the American Federation of Ramallah-Palestine to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorcas, including input from the American Palestinian Council and various Arab American organizations, raised concerns about Israel's continued discrimination against US citizens, particularly Palestinian Americans entering Israel through an airport. Ben Gurion and the land crossings across the bridges with Jordan.

Countries participating in the US Visa Waiver Program must provide “reciprocal privileges for US citizens.” Reciprocity is a central principle upon which the US Visa Waiver Program is based. Every US citizen on a tourist visa to the 40 countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program should be treated equally - regardless of race, creed, ethnic background, or secondary citizenship. It is reported that Americans, especially Palestinian Americans, who enter or leave Israel are usually racially profiled based on their Arabic-sounding names, place of birth, second nationality, and the extent and nature of their political activity, and are often subjected to inhumane treatment and detained for long hours.
The 55,000 Palestinian Americans currently residing in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are not permitted to travel through Ben Gurion Airport without a special, difficult-to-secure permit from the Israeli Civil Administration, which regulates practically most aspects of Palestinian life in the West Bank and, to a lesser extent, in Gaza.

Informed sources have informed me that a draft agreement has already been completed, and both Israel and the United States hope to sign the agreement by the end of May, but the US Department of State and Homeland Security continue to encourage all parties involved to raise their observations and concerns before the agreement is finalized. If approved, the agreement will become effective by September of this year.

Successive Israeli governments have made joining the Visa Waiver Program a priority political goal. But in order for Israel to be accepted into the program, the rate of rejection of tourist visa applications to the United States may be up to 3% at most. Israel has exceeded this limit mainly due to travel restrictions imposed in the wake of the Corona pandemic that have forced many Israelis to postpone applying for tourist visas to America until a later date, so there is now a rare window for Israel to qualify.

But many other requirements must also be met, and Israel must still commit to making fundamental policy changes before any final approval is granted by the United States. This gave the Palestinian Americans influence over Israel's admission to the program.

Palestinian Americans pointed out that no country that has occupied another people for more than 50 years and subjected millions to its military control is accepted into the US Visa Waiver Program. Also, Israel is the only country that does not have internationally recognized borders, which raises and complicates fundamental considerations.

Before Israel can be accepted into the Visa Waiver Program, the United States must certify that Israel has changed its discriminatory policies toward Palestinian Americans, especially those with Palestinian passports. Therefore, Israel must commit to the following:

Recognizing the primacy of US citizenship over any other nationality that Palestinians may hold, including the possession of a Palestinian passport.

• Israel must allow Palestinian Americans to enjoy unfettered, visa-free freedom to travel to, from, and within Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

US citizens should be allowed entry into Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, even Palestinian Americans.

Any agreement between the United States and Israel must include the Gaza Strip. Internationally, the world, with the exception of a few countries, views the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem as forming a single whole.

• Israel must include in its agreement all entry points - the airport, bridge crossings and any ports.

Complicating matters is the regulations enacted on October 20, 2022 by the Israeli Civil Administration, also known as the Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, as this office worked at the time to codify and tighten previous restrictions on the entry of foreigners, including American citizens, into West Bank. These regulations effectively prevent most US citizens from entering the West Bank. On the other hand, there are no restrictions imposed on US citizens who wish to visit the illegal Israeli settlements established in the West Bank.

If the restrictions imposed by the Office of the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories remain in effect, this means that Israel will not respect the principle of reciprocity, and therefore it is not eligible to participate in the US Visa Waiver Program.

Palestinian Americans are requesting the US State Department to develop and implement a reporting system to track cases of denial of entry and mistreatment of US citizens at all entry points into Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. The US State Department should establish a 24/7 hotline at the State Department for US citizens to report Israeli violations of the terms of the US Visa Waiver Program.

The United States should also warn Israel in advance that any serious violations could necessitate its removal from the Visa Waiver Program, just as Argentina was kicked out of the Visa Waiver Program for its citizens overstaying tourist visas two decades ago, when Argentina was experiencing a severe economic slowdown.

Details of the draft agreement between Israel and the United States on the visa waiver program have remained classified and have not yet been made public. Despite the looming and approaching deadline for Israel's entry into the Visa Waiver Program, Israel should not take for granted that it will be allowed to join the program. It is noteworthy that Palestinian Americans have become more organized, more politically engaged and motivated than they were a few years ago.

Without meeting the guarantees required of Israel to enter the Visa Waiver Program, the United States cannot make an agreement with Israel that circumvents what US law requires. Otherwise, the US government will end up in a legal battle with the Palestinian Americans.

*Dr. Bishara Bahbah is Vice President of the American Palestinian Council, a US-based public advocacy group. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem daily Al-Fajr newspaper, taught at Harvard University, and served as the assistant director of the university's Middle East Institute.